Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id GAA16150 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 30 Apr 2002 06:44:19 +0100 Message-ID: <004b01c1f008$4ebb8000$5e2ffea9@oemcomputer> From: "Philip Jonkers" <philipjonkers@prodigy.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <570E2BEE7BC5A34684EE5914FCFC368C10FC74@fillan.stir.ac.uk> Subject: Re: Media and Violence Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 22:31:39 -0700 Organization: Prodigy Internet Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000 X-Mimeole: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Phil:
> <True, and I'm not denying that but can you tell me how many, or
> better how
> > few,
> > organisms can thrive on non-organic food. Most of the organisms, except
> > perhaps
> > a few bacteria living off on anorganic compounds, have to kill other
> > organisms that
> > serve as food, be it other animals or plants. Humans are of course no
> > different
> > from other animals, indeed we kill off both plants and animals. We kill
> > simply because
> > we have to in order to survive. It's a them or we situation.
Vincent:
> I know what you mean, but I've no idea about the balance between
> symbiotic organisms and those... in conflict (I dunno what the right term
> is).
I guess that would be `parasitic'?
> Aren't there like thousands of species of organism that live on the
> dead tissues discarded by other organisms without doing any literal harm
to
> those organisms?
Thanks for mentioning the scavenger category, which is however as admirable
as it is exceptional. The simple rule of nature being: to kill or be killed.
> I think for example of all those various things that live
> in/on us like those little bug things that live in our eyebrows/eyelashes
> that eat dead skin cells, or the bacteria in our gut that allow us to
digest
> food. Compared to that, there aren't many fierce predators (didn't someone
> write a book called something like 'why big, fierce animals are scarce'?).
No offense, but I beg to differ. Even the vegans among us are slayers (of
veggies).
Phil.
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